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UPDATE: In a statement to Eurogamer, Ubisoft has said that the message on the Steam page is misleading and will be changed. Contrary to what the Steam page says, users will still be able to redownload all affected games after their servers are taken offline, if they have purchased the games previously. Ubisoft's full statement to Eurogamer is as follows:

"As stated in our support article, only DLCs and online features will be affected by the upcoming decommissioning. Current owners of those games will still be able to access, play or redownload them. Our teams are working with our partners to update this information across all storefronts and are also assessing all available options for players who will be impacted when these games’ online services are decommissioned on 1st September, 2022.

"It has always been our intention to do everything in our power to allow those legacy titles to remain available in the best possible conditions for players, and this is what we are working towards."

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ORIGINAL ARTICLE: Ubisoft has pulled three games from sale on Steam, adding a notice to the store page that they would be "inaccessible" after September 1, 2022. The first title, Space Junkies, is a multiplayer-only title, so online services being decommissioned and these games becoming inaccessible isn't exactly rare. However, the other two games - Assassin's Creed Liberation HD and Silent Hunter 5 - are exclusively single player.

Typically, when a game is pulled from digital storefronts, anyone who owns it can still redownload it freely. However, the extra notice that these titles will be "inaccessible" after September 1 has users concerned they will be unable to download them again. A page on Ubisoft's website about games being decommissioned in September of 2022 warns that "the installation and access to DLC will be unavailable" for these games, which could suggest it won't be available in any way.

That warning also appears on the entries for several other games - Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Blacklist, Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands, Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, the non-remastered release of Far Cry 3 and the non-remastered release of Assassin's Creed III - but the Steam pages for those games have different information. Tom Clancy, Prince of Persia, Far Cry 3 and Brotherhood say that DLC and online elements will become unavailable as of September 1, though the base game will remain accessible, again implying that the base game will no longer be available for games that don't carry that stipulation. Assassin's Creed III, meanwhile, only mentions that it will no longer be available for sale, with no mention of loss of access to DLC or online elements.

The move has drawn widespread criticism from the community who see it as an unprecedented anti-consumer move, especially since, according to SteamDB, Liberation HD was on sale just a few weeks ago up until its delisting.

As reported by Destructoid, Ubisoft issued the following statement to multiple news outlets: “We don’t take the decision to retire services for older Ubisoft games lightly. Our teams are currently assessing all available options for players who will be impacted when these games’ online services are decommissioned on September 1st, 2022.”

 

[raxadian]

DLC will still be bricked.

 

[Viri]

You'd have to be an idiot, to think they won't do this to more of their games.

"Sure would be nice, if we can sell this remaster better, but too many people own the original version..."

 

[Xzi]

Ubisoft has been going down the shitter for years, they might as well throw in the towel like Konami rather than develop the hundredth identical AssCreed/Far Cry game.

 

[pedro702]

that is why i have my physical copys, they cant be delisted xD

 

[subcon959]

that is why i have my physical copys, they cant be delisted xD

I'm the same, but I do wonder how many of those so-called physical copies are actually self contained and don't need to call a server to make them "complete". The number is certainly getting less and less over time.

 

[NeroAngelo]

soooo you lose the DLC? I mean sure the games are old but wtf ... people paid for that shit.
it's shit like this that makes me a firm believer that piracy is legit a good thing.

 

[pedro702]

I'm the same, but I do wonder how many of those so-called physical copies are actually self contained and don't need to call a server to make them "complete". The number is certainly getting less and less over time.

Any physical copy that doesnt require a download to play is self contained, you may loose the patches if the servers go down but you can always play the physical copy.

Of course those physical copys that say internet required that dont have the entire game on disc/catridge, those will have the same fate as any digital one.

Assassin creed liberation has a solid physical release on ps4 (on the assassin creed 3 remaster) on ps4 both ac3 and liberation are on disc with all the dlc, on switch only the base game of ac3 and liberation is on cartridge, the dlc for ac3 needs to be downloaded.

so imo liberation is safe.

 

[Gozaburo]

And that's why I only buy physical releases. It's the ppl own fault when buying games digital

 

[OldManLav]

And that's why I only buy physical releases. It's the ppl own fault when buying games digital

Wait till you realize that fewer and fewer games are playable without an initial update... some games released on Series X/PS5, PC and even Switch don't even contain the entire game.

Who's fault will it be then? Silly to fault specific consumers when these decisions affect all of us.

 

[BasedKiliK]

And that's why I only buy physical releases. It's the ppl own fault when buying games digital

Moot point. A disc for Halo Infinite still requires a download before it’s playable. Not a solution when devs stop including the full game on physical media.

 

[Gozaburo]

There are enough videos on YT how to update a game on it's latest patch without downloading it.

 

[Squidge]

dirtbags